BC Bulletin

Boston College Football's All-Time Leading Tackler Inducted to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Kuechly only spent three years with the Eagles (2009-11) but manufactured the second-most tackles by an individual in NCAA history.
Graham Dietz|
October 29, 2011; College Park, MD, USA; Boston College Eagles linebacker Luke Kuechly (40) gets ready for the play in the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images
October 29, 2011; College Park, MD, USA; Boston College Eagles linebacker Luke Kuechly (40) gets ready for the play in the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images | Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images

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Boston College Eagles

On Thursday night, at the NFL Honors show, former Boston College football linebacker Luke Kuechly, the program’s all-time leading tackler and the 2011 Bronko Nagurski Award winner — presented annually to the national defensive player of the year — was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The other members of the 2026 Hall of Fame class were Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Vinatieri, Roger Craig, and Drew Brees.

Kuechly only spent three years on the Heights, but his mark on the program left a lasting impact on the entire college football landscape.

In only 38 games played, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native racked up 532 total tackles, which ranks second-most in NCAA history.

Kuechly additionally ranks first in NCAA football history in career total tackles per game (14.0), sixth in career solo tackles (299), and second in career solo tackles per game (7.87). 

Along with receiving the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as a junior, in which he started all 12 games and totaled a school-record 191 tackles, including 102 solos, Kuechly captured the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker, the Rotary Lombardi Awards as the nation’s lineman or inside linebacker of the year, the Lott Impact Trophy, and was named a consensus First Team All-American.

One year prior, as a sophomore, he was unanimously named an All-American by all five selectors — the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, the Football Writers’ Association of America, Sporting News, and Walter Camp Football Foundation — after tallying 183 total tackles (110 solos) on the season.

In 2009, as a freshman, Kuechly registered 158 tackles with 87 solo tackles and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year, received an All-ACC First Team nod, and earned Freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers’ Association of America and Sporting News.

After his career on the Heights, the Carolina Panthers drafted Kuechly with the No. 9 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

In an eight-year career, he made seven Pro Bowls, picked up five First-Team All-Pro selections, was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, and the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012.

Kuechly led the NFL in tackles twice, accumulated 1,092 career tackles, and was named to the NFL 2010’s All-Decade Team as well.

While he appeared in Super Bowl 50, in which the Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos, 24-10, the former Eagle — who is arguably the greatest player, not just defensive player, in BC football history — never acquired a Lombardi Trophy.

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Graham Dietz
GRAHAM DIETZ

Graham Dietz is a 2025 graduate of Boston College and subsequently joined Boston College On SI. He previously served as an editor for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, from fall 2021, including as Sports Editor from 2022-23. Graham works for The Boston Globe as a sports correspondent, covering high school football, girls' basketball, and baseball. He was also a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2023.

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